In my case, I am looking for: good quality at a good price; colours that suit me and that will fit in with my existing wardrobe; clothes that fit me well, which in my case usually means having to buy petite sizes (but not the smallest petite sizes unfortunately!) No doubt you have similar priorities. However there is an even more important issue that we should all be taking into account when we go clothes shopping: fair trade.
We've all heard the horror stories of the sweat shops in third world countries (which, even worse, may include child labour) that exist to feed our obsession with cheap fashion. The simple solution is to only buy clothes made in your own country , but that doesn't help to solve the problem of poor working conditions and poverty in developing countries. The other solution is to look for Fairtrade Clothing whenever you shop.
The pioneers of Sustainable and Fair Trade Fashion in the UK are People Tree, who just happen to have a sale on at the moment. I've noticed that they do international delivery too. Excuse me while I pop over to their website to have a look - http://www.peopletree.co.uk/ . I am seriously tempted by this dress, and they have it in my size!
Living in Spain, I am lucky enough to be able to buy good quality, reasonably priced shoes and bags that have been made locally, though of course some of the cheaper items are made abroad so I have to check the labels. There is a lot of unemployment here, so I like to think that I am supporting local people whenever I buy a new pair of shoes or another handbag with the "Made in Spain" label.
Do you have any favourite Fair Trade shops that you can share with us?
Locally I do have some Fair Trade shops - which is wonderful. I would love to travel to Spain and visit your local shops and Made in Spain products.
ReplyDeleteHer we have access to fair-trade shops including Mark sand Spence. I've had a look at the People Tree website. Lovely items.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing.
Thanks for your comments. I think that the more people demand fair trade clothes, the more the big name companies like Marks and Spencer will stock them.
ReplyDeleteCorinne, if you decide to travel to Spain, do get in touch!
Yetunde, I have decided to wait until I visit the UK in June and go to a couple of shops that stock People Tree so that I can try on their clothes. They do have lovely items, don't they!